Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm taking a baby corn to the vet to have him checked out. He has refused the pinky the last two times I've offered it to him. Should I ask the vet to force-feed him?

Here's a picture:

It is way to early to worry about force feeding. I just had a hatchling go 2 months before taking her first meal. Just do a search on getting hatchlings started and try some of the tricks others have found to work.

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3.2 Corn (Butter-Sunflower '07/Anery Stripe-Ripple '06/Amber-Jack Straw '06/Snow-Casey Jones '06/Amel Motley-Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's Ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.0 White Oaks Grey Rat (Tennesse Jed '04)
0.1 IJ Carpet Python (Cassidy '04)
1.0 Western Hognose (Samson '05)
1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 8yrs, Porter 3yrs)

I've tried braining; I've tried decapitating the pinky; I've tried leaving it with him - not even a hint of interest. I don't have access to geckos. I may try live pinkies if the vet says the snake can go for a while, but I would like him to eat ASAP.

It's also difficult for me to get to the vet very often. My veterinarian is an hour away and charges like $50 just for the office visit (excluding meds). I hate to sound cheap, but I can't fund frequent visits.

Tell us more about how you have your snake set up.. Do you have a hide box? do you have a heat pad? What temp is your heat pad set at? is your snake going into a shed?

Assuming everything is correct.. then give live a try and be patient snakes can go longer than you think without a meal.. 2 weeks is really not that long.

Keep us posted!

~ Mike Russo

The temps are between 74 (night) and 77-80 degrees (daytime). I have him in a medium critter keeper (1.5-2 gallons) with a coconut hide, a water bowl (that can also double as a hide), and about an 1.5 to 2 inches of aspen shavings. The tank is situated next to my Cal king's heat lamp so that the heat from the lamp warms the tank.
The snake does not appear to be prepping for a shed. The small tank is temporary until I can move him to a 10 gallon with a heat pad sometime next week.

I'm sorry I'm being such a nervous wreck. If the snake had a little more weight on him and had normal stools, I would be a little more relaxed.

This is a picture of his tank. Since he's so timid, I'll keep him in this for a while until he calms down. He seems to be less stressed in small environments. BTW, the duct tape is sealing the crack in the plastic. He can't get through it, but sealing it makes me feel better. No little escapees.

If your little corn snake can see a king snake you may want to move his tank that is stressing since kingsnakes eat cornsnakes in the wild. This may be bugging him out. Also I would try live before you go to the vet. Has the snake ever fed for you before? I hink if the live pinkie does not work try an anole. If he takes an anole I will teach you how to scent feed. But move the corn away from the king and try a alive pinkie first. The smell is much diffrent. I have an adult emory tat wont touch anything that is not alive.

They can't see each other. I have the cornsnake's little tank inside a larger tank for two reasons: (1) limitation/prevention of parasite infestation (though I haven't seen any evidence of mites, etc.) and (2) to keep him contained just in case he escapes the main tank. There's enough space between the walls of the main tank and the walls of the backup to keep the two from seeing each other. I also have a layer of aspen in the backup tank to keep them from seeing each other. Having the cornsnake over him doesn't bother my kingsnake - he's used to having things move just outside of his tank (i.e. me).

The corn snake could possibly pick up his scent. I have a snake rom, and some of my snakes totally know when I bring mice in at feeding time. Some are just down right crazed when they never bite. I used to have an Indian cobra that was as calm as ap puppy dog and never hooded up. When I would bring a frozen mice in the room he would come flying out of the cage and bite anything taht moved: hook, cage door, anything. I know a corn is not a cobra but my corns are freekin nuts at feeding time. So it cant hurt to move the cage.

I don't think they can smell each other (or at least, not enough to matter). My kingsnake is a pretty aggressive feeder. I usually wear gloves when I feed him because he has the tendency to miss the mouse and strike at anything that's in/around his feeding box. There hasn't been any change in his behavior that would indicate that he can smell prey. The cornsnake is skittish anyway. Your idea is good though. I'll keep it in mind if the cornsnake continues to refuse meals.

Thanks for the input.

Try live. That is what finally worked for me after 8 weeks of trying all of the tricks. If it takes the live we can help you get it switched to F/T. I really didn't want to go live, but it did the trick and she hasn't missed a meal since. It only took 2 weeks to get her switched back to F/T. And don't keep trying to feed it every couple of days. If it knows it gets offered a meal every 2 days it can really start to be picky. Try every 5-7 days. I'm sure it won't be a problem.
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3.2 Corn (Butter-Sunflower '07/Anery Stripe-Ripple '06/Amber-Jack Straw '06/Snow-Casey Jones '06/Amel Motley-Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's Ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.0 White Oaks Grey Rat (Tennesse Jed '04)
0.1 IJ Carpet Python (Cassidy '04)
1.0 Western Hognose (Samson '05)
1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 8yrs, Porter 3yrs)

Thanks for the info. I'm taking him to the vet Thursday since his stools have been abnormal. The only reason I was offering food that often was because they wanted me to bring in a stool sample. He hasn't eaten in about two weeks, and I didn't think they would be able to get a decent sample.

Try this.....

Hold the corsnake firmly and push the pinky into the snakes nose gently. This will usually give a bite responce. Do not let go and move the pinky deeper into the mouth. then put both on a firm object and let go and move away. sometimes they will just do the rest. other times they will release but then minutes later do it on there own. the taste brings on a stronger feeding responce.

Not e this is only to be ued as a last resort before complete force feeding or a pinky pump!!!
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www.BetterBoa.com

4.3 BCIs (Zeus, Athena, Xena, Jocasta, Menelaus, Aphodite, Hades)
4.4 Corn snakes

I'm sometimes amazed how many "tricks" we will try before offering a live pink. I had a clutch of babies this year that all ate for me pretty quickly & then 2 decided to stop altogether. The rest were eating frozen/thawed every few days while these 2 went over a month without a meal. I tried braining, decapitation, tuna water. Then, on my monthly trip to the Ohio Reptile show, I picked up a couple of live pinks. Both of my "non-eaters" ate them RIGHT AWAY. A few days later, I was feeding f/t to everyone & warmed 2 up a little extra in hot water to see if they would do a nice warm f/t for me. Both did & have been eating heartily ever since. The power of the live pinky to "turn on the feeding switch" can be, at times, amazing.